Use Misinformation to Fight Misinformation: Integrating Inoculation Theory and Word-of-Mouth Communication for Health Advocacy
The present project is to examine the effect of integrating inoculation theory and word-of-mouth communication in countering misinformation (i.e., spreading inoculation). To achieve this goal, we intend to conduct a series of experiments to test if and in what circumstances inoculation messages help to inoculate against attitude attacks produced by misinformation. This study's findings possibly contribute to the infodemic literature by testing whether the strategy of inoculation can successfully inoculate against misinformation and preserve participants' health attitudes.
Highlights
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An inoculation approach: It focuses on forewarning individuals about misinformation and encouraging the spread of inoculated messages.
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Leveraging the power of word-of-mouth: The approach is expected to strengthen psychological resistance to false information and disrupt its transmission within social networks.
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Experimental validation: The project includes experiments to validate the effectiveness of inoculation messages before moving on to larger-scale real-world applications.
